Labour MP Darren Jones has called for a renewed focus on economic growth, arguing that higher public spending alone cannot make Britain wealthier and that the Government must confront the long-term challenges shaping the country’s future.
Writing in The Times, Jones said Britain is “poorer than we often think” and warned that the country “won’t get richer based on higher public spending alone”. The former Chief Secretary to the Treasury said Labour must concentrate on creating the wealth needed to support its ambitions, while ensuring the benefits of growth are shared fairly.
He wrote:
“We shouldn’t rely on public spending as a route to some romantic version of making Britain great again as we look in the rearview mirror for a great history that is no longer available to us.”
“We must face the future, and I know my colleagues are up to the challenge.”
Promoting the article on X, Jones said:
“Britain isn’t as rich as we often think but that won’t be fixed by public spending alone.”
“We must face the future so that when voters ask at the next election ‘is Britain heading in the right direction?’ the answer is yes.”
His intervention comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham prepares to set out a longer-term strategy for the Government, with growth, living standards and rebuilding public services expected to remain central priorities.
Facing the challenges ahead
Jones identifies a series of major structural challenges which he believes Britain must prepare for rather than simply react to, including the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs and productivity, the need to build greater resilience to climate change, and the increasing demands placed on Britain’s defence and national security capabilities.
He has warned that Burnham’s 10-year plan, due in November, must rise to that challenge, or the “sugar rush of short-term announcements will be meaningless”.
His argument is that meeting those tests requires a stronger economy capable of generating higher wages, greater investment and the tax revenues needed to sustain first-class public services. That means combining fiscal responsibility with policies that encourage businesses to invest, innovate and grow.
Jones also stresses that growth must be accompanied by fairness, with voters able to see tangible improvements in their own lives rather than simply stronger headline economic figures. “Politically, we shouldn’t see conflict between growth and fairness, or business and workers, or the market and the state. These are false choices,” he wrote.
The intervention reflects a wider debate within Labour about how the Government can combine ambitious improvements to public services with the need to strengthen Britain’s underlying productive capacity.
‘Is Britain heading in the right direction?’
Jones argues that Labour ultimately needs to be judged on whether people feel the country is moving forward. His focus on the next election is therefore not simply about individual policies, but about whether voters experience rising wages, stronger services, greater economic security and renewed optimism about Britain’s future.
The article also marks a new phase for Jones following his time at the Treasury and in Downing Street. He is expected to play an active role from the backbenches, including through a new group focused on scrutinising public finances and ensuring spending decisions support longer-term economic objectives.
His central message is one Labour has repeatedly placed at the heart of its economic offer: sustainable public services ultimately depend on creating a stronger and more productive economy.
For Jones, the political test facing Labour is clear — to show by the next general election that Britain is wealthier, fairer and moving decisively in the right direction.
